CoD4Boards Moving On....

[MikeMcD]

I need some input from the member base about the focus of the forum moving forward.

Basically we have a version specific forum. As time goes on and future editions of the franchise come out, we need to come up with some sort of plan to allow the forum to continue to grow and be relevant.

That said, here are a few options:

1. Re-theme/redesign the current forum to focus on the current version of Call of Duty but leave the domain alone

2. Re-theme/redesign the current forum and put it on a new, version specific domain.

3. Leave it all alone and just add sections for future iterations of the franchise.

4. Create a new property altogether for each emerging title of the franchise.

5. Create a new property the is not version specific and merge all of our existing Call of Duty 4 forum properties into it.

That's just a few off the top of my head. I am interested in feedback, comments, suggestions etc... What do you guys think?

[Triz]

Option 5 sounds like the most logical, then you'll just have one COD forum for all existing and any future releases.

[WocketInMyPocket]

i like option 2. maybe make the domain name that isnt based on a paticular COD game and just focus on the COD franchise.

just a little ideas.

[Einstein]

3 or 5 is good for me

[RSX_Itos]

They all sound like good ideas my guess would be option 3 & 5.

[MikeMcD]

Here's my current favorite... which is sort of a combination of a couple options.

(Again just a concept in my head for the time being)

I set up a new domain (non version specific) TheCoDForums.com or CoDGrounds.com maybe.

Set up a new domain/forum for Call of Duty World at War
Something like:
callofdutywawforum.com
callofdutywawforums.com
cod5forums.com
codwawforum.com
codwawforums.com
codworldatwarforum.com

(we own lots of domains, so plenty of options)

Then I take the WaW sections from this forum the other call of duty forum and maybe the other xbox forums and feed them into the new WaW forum. Meaning that threads/forums in that section would just take you to the new board.

Then I take the non version specific call of duty domain I mentioned first and power it with some sort of blog software (don't worry it wouldn't look like a blog).

This domain becomes a 'hub' for all things Call of duty. We could put Call of Duty related news items on here and have the rest of it's content being fed from all of the various call of duty forums (as in best/most important posts f the day etc.)

As new versions of the franchise are launched we could then just incorporate them into our little Call of Duty universe.

So that's my thinking...

Thoughts?

[shellshokk]

one big COD Forums site, drop the 4 from the URL and then you could have links to all the different COD games Forums via the home page, make it easy to navigate and find what you want. Like ^^ said would be good!

otherwise i think Option 5 is good.

[trickyeclipse777]

i think it's a good idea

[smith2008lfc1]

I think the current layout is fine but as the number of games grow and member numbers keep increasing then something will eventually be done, your second post sounds good though Mike

[Carlos]

Here's what I think you guys need to do:

Import COD4forums.com into a fresh, brand new vbulletin database.

Upgrade the current COD4boards.com site.

Once that's done, merge cod4boards into the newly installed COD4Forums database.

With me so far? Good.

Delete the old COD4Forums.com skin from the old forums. However, keep the old COD4boards skin, which is basicly the same damn thing; it even bears the COD4Forums subtitle.

Now, from here on out, buy a new vb license AND a version specific website/COD specific website, install the newly purchased VB license on a completely fresh, brand new database. Point the new domain HERE.

From here, INTEGRATE the old database with the new database, so that both sites can post on either site, regardless of which site they are on. Now, next step, make new sections SPECIFICLY designed for that domain name you purchased. THEN, create a brand new skin JUST for that domain name/instance.

From here, the previous forum users can post on the new boards, without having to re-register. Likewise, the COD4Forums.com users can post on the new (and the old) boards without having to create TWO different usernames for both communities for both specific sites; you guys are under the same company umbrella. So, why not?

Now, this brings new users to the old forums/boards - as well.

COD4forums redirects to the newly merged board, however, vbulletin requires you to buy another instance just to have both boards merged. However, Vbulletin allows you to buy another instance from the CPanel of the member number used for this site. You are basicly telling Jelsoft that you legitmently own both sites.

The new forums that I'm thinking of having integrate with the newly merged COD4Boards is a different instance, so the end result for the owner of this site/manager of this site is that he owns 3 instances. Two sites as a end user result. One COD Universe (ahem; network).

May be complicated to the end user, but less complicated once its done. It is easier to understand if you've owned a vb license, website, and MYSQL databases on your server.